Summary
- Epic Games Store's Mystery Games promotion offers free games to its userbase during the holiday season.
- The promotion usually ends shortly after the new year begins, but this year it seems to be continuing for a longer period of time.
- Leaks have revealed the supposed final games in the Mystery Games promotion, including 20 Minutes Till Dawn, A Plague Tale: Innocence, and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.
In 2023, the Epic Games Store began its yearly Mystery Games promotion on December 13, where it first gave out Destiny 2: Legacy Collection at no extra cost to Epic's userbase. From there, the next game was DNF Duel on December 20, which kicked off the true Mystery Games tradition of one game being offered every single day until New Year's. These freebies are a great way for the Epic Games Store to get into the holiday spirit, offering these titles like presents to those who have supported the store for years, or even recently just signed up for free games.
However, where the previous Mystery Game promotions ended sometime after the new year began, it seems that the newest iteration of the tradition is going to continue a bit longer than expected. Epic Games Store Mystery Games up to January 11 have been leaked with a fair bit of credit behind them. While some players want to keep what's being offered on the platform as a surprise, some enjoy looking to leaks and rumors to know what's coming up so they're prepared for the games they want and ready to ignore those that they don't. If this leak is to be believed, then the Mystery Games promotion seems to be going out with a bit of a bang.
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The Free Mystery Games or First Weekly Epic Games Store Free Games of January 2024
How the Final Epic Games Store Mystery Games Were Leaked
The Epic Games Store is no stranger to leaks, with many of its Mystery Game promotions being leaked ahead of time. While anyone can make a guess or even a fake leak as to what titles are coming out next, some sources are far more trustworthy than others.
The supposed final Mystery Games came from a rather unknown source with very little track record, yet known reputable leaker Billbill-kun has stated that this list has a "95% chance" of being correct. However, two of the games on the list have already been released as Mystery Games, confirming this list to be accurate.
20 Minutes Till Dawn (January 2–3)
20 Minutes Till Dawn is a survival roguelite that takes heavy inspiration from shoot 'em ups, otherwise known as "bullet hells" which is a bit more of an apt title for the rumored Mystery Game, to invite players to shoot everything in sight to survive for 20 minutes. While players accrue experience that can be used to strengthen their player characters during the game, any progress is kept upon dying, giving fans the chance to keep trying again and again. 20 Minutes Till Dawn combines the best of both genres to offer a unique experience players love, earning very positive reviews on Steam.
20 Minutes Till Dawn
- Released
- June 7, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
Upgrade, Build and Survive! Defend hordes of vampires now!
20 Minutes Till Dawn is a roguelike, shoot'em up game where you mow down endless hordes of lovecraftian monsters and survive the night!
Unique Builds Every Run
In this roguelite survival game, select from a variety of upgrades to create a unique and overpowered builds every run. You can be a fire wizard, for example, and ignite monsters with every pump of your shotgun, or an agile ninja who controls magic knives to pierce your vampire enemies.
Select Your Hero
Choose from a diverse selection of characters and weapons that offer a variety of gameplay experiences during your survival adventure!
Features
Over 80 different upgrades to choose from for a unique experience every run!
Wide cast of characters, weapons, runes, maps and vampire monsters.
Casual quick 10-20 minutes play sessions, for busy gamers.
Rune System helps you become stronger
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- flanne
- Engine
- Unity, RPG Maker 2003
- Publisher
- Erabit, Flanne
- Genre(s)
- Shooter, Indie Games, Adventure, Casual, Strategy
- How Long To Beat
- 3 hours
A Plague Tale: Innocence (January 3–4)
As far as action-adventure stealth games go, A Plague Tale: Innocence is one of the more stand-out options players have to choose from. Playing as Amicia de Rune, players have to navigate the world of France during The Hundred Years' War through puzzles to avoid capture by soldiers or being infected by the black plague via a horde of rats.
A Plague Tale: Innocence offers a hard-hitting story that leans on both the historical and the supernatural horror elements of the game's premise to keep players surprised and guessing as to what happens next. It serves as a great video game for fans of medieval history, and if players enjoy it after picking it up for free on the Epic Games Store, A Plague Tale: Requiem is a sequel that will give players many more puzzles to solve and mysteries to unravel once they're done with the first game.
A Plague Tale: Innocence
- Released
- May 14, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
Follow the grim tale of young Amicia and her little brother Hugo, in a heartrending journey through the darkest hours of history. Hunted by Inquisition soldiers and surrounded by unstoppable swarms of rats, Amicia and Hugo will come to know and trust each other. As they struggle to survive against overwhelming odds, they will fight to find purpose in this brutal, unforgiving world.
1348. The plague ravages the Kingdom of France. Amicia and her younger brother Hugo are pursued by the Inquisition through villages devastated by the disease. On their way, they will have to join forces with other children, and evade swarms of rats using fire and light. Aided only by the link that binds their fates together, they will face untold horrors in their struggle to survive. As their adventure begins… the time of innocence ends.
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Asobo Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Focus Home Interactive
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Switch, PC
- How Long To Beat
- 10 Hours
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (January 4–11)
Finally, the last leaked game for the Epic Games Store mystery game promotion is Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, ending the streak of daily freebies with a rather interesting title from 2021. Taking control of Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, players can go on an epic adventure with the other Guardians as their leader. Known for its in-depth combat options, small exploration segments, and ability to socialize and make connections with the cast, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy may have had a mixed reception, but it sticks the landing in many ways for some.
While getting the chance to play a game like Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy for no extra charge is a great opportunity, it begs the question of whether GotG can be considered the final mystery game or the first proper weekly Epic Games Store free game for 2024. It'll all depend on how the game is presented, but either way, fans will have a week to claim the Marvel video game once it goes live on January 4. Every game after that will be available for a week as per usual once gamers have settled into the new year with their latest freebies in tow.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
- Released
- October 26, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
Fire up a wild ride across the cosmos with a fresh take on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. In this third-person action-adventure game, you are Star-Lord, and thanks to your bold yet questionable leadership, you have persuaded an oddball crew of unlikely heroes to join you. Some jerk (surely not you) has set off a chain of catastrophic events, and only you can hold the unpredictable Guardians together long enough to fight off total interplanetary meltdown.
Use Element Blasters, tag-team beat downs, jet boot-powered dropkicks, nothing’s off-limits. If you think it’s all going to plan, you’re in for a world of surprises, with the consequences of your actions guaranteed to keep the Guardians on their toes.
In this original Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy story, you’ll cross paths with powerful new beings and unique takes on iconic characters, all caught in a struggle for the galaxy’s fate. It’s time to show the universe what you’re made of. You got this. Probably.
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Language, Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Eidos Montreal
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Franchise
- Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
- How Long To Beat
- 18 Hours